Innovation at Scott Farms, Tirau
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67 Innovation at Scott Farms, Tirau IAN SCOTT Oraka Deer Farm, 71 Bayly Road, Tirau RD1 Introduction Pasture management I run a mixed enterprise, dairy, deer and maize growing Integration of deer and cows. Mature hinds maintain farm based on high value Tirau ash soils situated pasture quality in spring while allowing higher between Tirau and Matamata. Many neighbouring residual grazing levels to increase per cow productivity farms are being purchased for vegetable cropping as and improve mating performance. The deer are urban spread in Auckland forces the likes of Balle Bros exceptionally good at removing weeds and improving and Wilcox & Sons further south. I continue to practice pasture density. as a large animal veterinarian primarily serving dairy In winter when the whole herd is on annuals, weaner farmers, but also meeting quality assurance and animal deer are used in the deer-fenced part of the dairy farm to welfare needs of the deer industry. After 35 years maintain a pasture wedge for returning cows to enhance working with farmers, I am still amazed by the skill, early lactation production. inventiveness and sheer creativity demonstrated by so Parasite challenge is the biggest problem for young many of my clients. deer growth rates. Using parasite-free dairy pastures enhances deer performance and enhances sustainability Farm Description by reducing dependence on chemical endectocides. • Home block: 108 ha (58 ha milking platform, 8 No supplements are made on the deer or dairy platform. If the deer can’t keep up with maximum ha farm forestry, 42 ha 400 deer) spring growth, then cow grazing extends into the deer • Lake Road: 50 ha support (8 ha bulls and calves; farm and inputs are scaled back. Round bales are way 40 ha maize and annual ryegrass, 400 to 480 too expensive. tonnes maize silage sold annually) • Oliver Farms: 70 ha (700 deer and calves yr 1) Deer production • Off Farm: replacements and sale heifers • Velvet: 1.5 t • Venison: 400+ carcasses 65–70 kg av Dairy Production • Trophies: 8–10 per year, best $50 000 average It has taken 5 years to move production from 58 000 $6000–8000 kg MS on 50 ha to 138 000 on 58 ha + support block. (recent world record – bow shot 593 SCI) The current operation is System 5 in the DairyNZ Export stud stock: Recently sent first shipment from classification. It is seasonal supply, with split herds to New Zealand by air back to Europe; I have also sent allow targeted feeding. Inputs/cow amount to 3–3.5 deer to China. Exports of deer are to improve the trophy tonnes per cow during the lactation. potential in European estates. Lake Road, the support block grows 30 t/ha: 25 t Terminal sire sales in New Zealand: Oraka Deer Park maize and 5 t annual ryegrass was the major supplier to Landcorp for terminal sires. The cows are grazed at Lake Road on annual ryegrass This aspect of the business is declining as deer farmers from late May, returning to the Home block for calving, become extinct. July-September All heifers are synchronised, AI, positives kept, and Challenges brought home in winter to calve week one. Staff Running high input high stocking rate operations is not Inputs simple, especially for me, as I can’t be full time hands- Input system needs to be simple, no mixer wagon, on: I have 35 other farmers and their 16 000 cows all yeast, bypass fats etc. Needs to be done by staff. with their own problems and issues that they want me PKE (NB. the quality is declining with less oil and to solve. It is not a question of good cows and a nice more burnt undigestible charcoal), maize grain, DDG, farm as outsiders and staff like to think. It is very hard kiwifruit, Tapioca. work and you need excellent planning as well as well- Maize silage 420-450 t/year produced; 150 t for deer developed anticipation and intuition. At 5.2 cows/ha Winter grazing whole herd on annual ryegrass. a surplus becomes a deficit in the blink of an eye. 68 Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association 75: 67-70 (2013) You need to sense changes almost before they can be autumn just to renew weak pastures. In any industry measured and mud and pasture damage happens while where the advertising budget is bigger than the product others relax by the fire oblivious to risk. Progress is development expenditure you have to consider that you made by 100 incremental gains. I, like many others, am are dealing with a fashion trend not pure science. My finding that people arriving from overseas, particularly mail box has been strengthened and enlarged to cope Asian countries, have the attitude, the work ethic and with autumn grass seed brochures! I now plant chicory sheer mental agility and skills that we need on farm. under-sowed with annuals in winter, then sprayed and This difference appears to reflect the fact that at school re-boosted with chicory in year two. I don’t believe our children have been told that agriculture has a limited New Zealand’s future productivity gains will be driven future and careers advisors steer those with the required by new ryegrass strains. talent in another direction. After overcoming language and cultural barriers and provided with the appropriate Sustainability and environmental protection in job training, the overseas people become highly This is the new tomorrow and every CEO of a research valued team members. institution rubs his hands with glee when he sees a research proposal with sustainability as a central Pastures theme…instantly fundable. But we have some very I am over new pastures. I did as science suggested and hard calls to make as a nation and as individual farmers. renewed a lot of the farm. In the first big drought AR1’s OVERSEER as a regulatory tool is not the simple did not perform well. I was told AR37 would be just answer everyone would like and top farmers are likely to the ticket, but with well-fed cows, palatability is poor be penalised by a one size fits all approach. Much work and my deer don’t like these at all. If the bugs don’t needs to be done. Should I be penalised for leaching like it, neither do well fed animals! Don’t do trial work a little too much N/ha when I produce over twice the with poorly-fed, grass-only cows. They don’t know national average/ha? And how about greenhouse gases? what choice is. (NB. Elk are by far the best animals for Does New Zealand want extra exports to sell and drive trials on endophyte. They have never encountered them prosperity or should we be able to drive from Remuera during evolution so they react to the slightest challenge, to Ruapehu each fine weekend in winter to go skiing? especially ergovalines where cattle don’t show signs Driving 10 000 km in a Camry produces the same that are easily measured.) In last year’s drought the new carbon dioxide equivalents as one cow driving the grasses didn’t persist either. My old untouched pastures economy. And the money from exports coming into the recovered in the shortest time and re-tillered to a dense, country supports the lifestyles of everybody. weed free sward but the others…And don’t talk of over grazing. With 5.2 cows/ha and a severe drought, High inputs equates to high risk withstanding grazing pressure is a necessary attribute, The combination of low pay-outs and drought or other not a luxury. Now I have to hire a tractor driver in adverse climatic changes put severe mental and financial Table 1. Scott farm production and local and regional data (Fonterra and New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2011-2012 season) Scott Farms South Waikato Waikato Herd size 300 374 327 Effective ha 57 128 116 Cows/ha 5.2 2.91 2.82 Litres/herd 1 595 249 1 674 560 1 288 351 Kg milkfat/herd 78 697* 82 333 63 566 Kg protein/herd 59 126* 63 071 48 144 Kg milksolids/herd 137 796* 145 404 111 710 Kg milkfat/ha 1381 641 548 Kg protein/ha 1037 491 415 Kg milksolids/ha 2 417 1132 963 Kg milkfat/cow 262 220 195 Kg protein/cow 197 169 147 Kg milksolids/cow 459 389 342 *70 additional replacements reared on whole milk for sale = 3370 kg MS extra consumed above normal replacement level. These data include the extra milk consumed by the calves. Innovation at Scott Farms, Tirau (I. Scott) 69 challenges ahead of those involved. You must have mental university support volunteers. Funding shortfalls ability and monetary reserves to cope. Not Negotiable. and behind the scenes inputs are the responsibility the farm owner! These responsibilities shouldn’t Things I am doing to improve sustainability: be underestimated. • integration across species, use deer to do topping despite “recent discovery” by Lincoln Dairy farm The Future that topping improves production. I don’t even A new covered herd shelter is being planned for this burn diesel… just grow venison. year. Using wood chip flooring this will enable virtually • less dependence on chemical worm control in deer. all herd shelter/feed pad nutrients to be recovered • graze my cows on maize ground over the major and recycled to the support farm, further reducing N leaching period of winter, early spring where leaching and improving soil structure. I cannot see that deeper maize roots can recover lost N from deep the current explosion of anaerobic ponds is the answer in the soil profile.